


Changedance

by NotTheSmoooze



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Complete, Dancing, Gender or Sex Swap, Magic, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 01:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21839263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotTheSmoooze/pseuds/NotTheSmoooze
Summary: Under the light of the moon, with the unveiling of the self, a dancer might find surrender in the arms of a goddess.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Changedance

My time in the shrine could be measured in hours, and even I knew that when the priestesses of Eilistraee danced here, they took off more than their clothes.

I was grateful, then, to be alone. I knew that the priestesses would not judge me. Would respect me, even, but all the same, I wouldn't remove my robes for them if I had the choice. If I must bare myself before my goddess Herself, then I would give Her my body and more, but no others.

I stood naked in the centre of a great stone circle, surrounded on all sides by dark forest. Moonlight painted the world in in Her light, and I hoped, prayed, that She was watching. That She would hear me. If not, then I would dance until the moon sank beneath the sky, and again the next night, again and again until my steps were heard or I was forced from the shrine.

I stood to my full height. Taller than I'd like, but for all my shame for my flesh, I still saw Her in it. She was in the black of my skin, in the sharp tips of my ears, in the white of my long hair and the braid I'd woven in Her honour. In the long, lean muscle of my legs and the steely strength within them forged by long hours of rigorous practice. 

Before the dance, I'd been painted in powder ground from crushed flowers, mixed with cane sugar and river water. The night air against my bare skin, still wet with the flower paint, sent shivers through my body. I forced myself to be strong. 

I closed my eyes, recalling the dance I'd practised for longer than I could remember. I'd heard Eilistraee's song since I was a child, loudest when I needed a hand to hold. I felt that hand now, and held the beat of Her music in my heart.

A short first step forward, a deep breath. I raised my chin, and fell into the rhythm. 

I moved, and for a moment, I felt silly. I couldn't fight it. Some childish part of me half-expected one of the priestesses to jump out from behind a tree, laughing. All of this... it was too good to be true. 

But life above the surface had seemed that way, too. So had She. 

The moment passed, and the steps filled my soul. My legs moved, my hips swayed, and the movements had never felt so natural.

The music grew louder with every step, but no matter how loud it became, it never hurt to listen. My heart beat in time with each divine pulse, and I could almost hear a voice behind the song. No words, but a presence.

I moved faster.

I spun, back straight, arm extended, palm open-

And the dance changed.

I felt a weight in my hand, barely there, feather-light, but _new_. 

My eyes opened, and I saw a beam of liquid moonlight falling from the night sky into my waiting hand. It curled and flooded between my fingers, and took a shape. A blade formed from pure moonlight. Pristine, pure white, and all but weightless.

There was no time for confusion. There was only the dance.

I moved again, and something clicked. With every sway of the arm, the sword played a role, and it shone like a beacon. It felt right in a way I couldn't explain. Like the dance had always been meant to be performed this way.

I twirled the blade in my arm, turned, and I couldn't fight my smile. Every step had a new life to it, a sense of discovery I hadn't felt since I'd first mastered the dance. Every movement was divine intelligence, machine perfection. The song roared in my ears, and I was its instrument.

I turned once more, and for the first time since I'd began, I nearly stopped.

Before me stood an angel. No, something _more_. A woman, naked, taller than anyone I'd ever seen — tall enough to make me feel silly for ever loathing my height — with black skin and white hair long enough to tickle her ankles. In her hands, she brandished a sword that matched mine, and on her face, she wore a smile. Her expression was calm, but there was a pride there, and it brought me to tears.

It was Her. It had to be.

But there was a dance to be done. That mattered, more than anything. Tears falling freely from my eyes, I _moved_ , and She moved with me.

There was a new grace to every step. The steel inside me was turning to something sharper, ivory wrapped in satin skin. My body had never felt so natural, and I found myself finishing movements almost before I'd started them.

We were nearing the end of the dance, and fear's long tendrils crept towards me. I pushed it aside. There would be a time for fear later, and I wouldn't let myself be anywhere but now. 

The apex of the dance drew closer, and I wasn't sure who was guiding who. When the final moment struck, my sword moved to cross with Hers, but both stopped a breath before clashing, and we only grew closer from there. The dance I knew had ended, but my goddess gripped me tight and raised me towards her, and each new step burned itself into my memory. I would never forget this moment.

In Her arms, my skin flowed like water. I fell into Her grip, my head against Her chest as She reshaped me. Each change brought me closer to Her image, and by the dance's end, I was nearly Her mirror.

The music stopped, and all was silent, save for my breaths and the beating of our hearts. Eilistraee released her grip, and I did not fall. 

Her body vanished, but I knew She was with me. 

Once again, the song began to play, and I danced until the sun rose.


End file.
